“No problem, kiddo.” He’d say as he switched back from his feral form to anthro. He also started to yawn, and stretch a little bit.
“I’m a tired derg, so I think I’ll be inside if ya need me.”
“Alright.” Brian would watch Jay stroll into the house; He’d look around, and notice Tommy outside on the beach nearby, enveloped in a blue aura, moving about rapidly and being bounced back. The husky being his curious self, slowly walked over to get a closer look as to what was going on. It looked like Tommy was in a fight, with a dragon patterned in red, white, and black. Compared to him he was much taller, about 7 feet tall. Brian instantly recognized him.
“He’s fighting Mystery? What for?”
He crouched behind the rocks, watching and hoping not to distract him.
“Mwahaha! I’ll take you down, hero!” shouted Mystery, pushing Tommy back as he propelled himself forward for a punch. It was enough force for him to roll backwards, and hitting the rock Brian was hiding behind.
“Oh crap!” The husky yelped, completely startled.
Tommy sat up, shaking the sand off of him, and turning his head towards the familiar voice.
“Brian?”
“Aha…Haiiii….”
He’d say, nervously chuckling.
“What are you doing he- OH CRAP!”
Tommy would jump out of the way as Mystery tried to grab him, only to trip as his ankle got caught in the angel dragon’s tail in the midst of doing so. Mystery grabbed him by the scruff and lifted him up.
“Hahah, I knew I’d catch you eventually!”
“Yeah yeah, put a sock in it, ya dork.” He scoffed, reluctant to admit his defeat.
Brian got up and scratched behind his head.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to distract you two.”
The cat smiled at him.
“Don’t worry about it, little bro. I think we’re both pretty tired out anyway.”
“Yeah. I think we should call it for today…I didn’t hurt you too bad, did I?” the angel dragon would ask, always concerned about his well-being.
Tommy looked up at his dragon companion.
“Nah. I may be covered in sand, but besides that I’m perfectly fine! You’d be surprised as to how much I can endure!”
Brian looked at his brother curiously.
“You also look pretty beat up..You haven’t been pushing yourself too hard, have you?”
Tommy shook his head as the angel dragon let him back down on the ground.
“Aside from losing a fight against Aki’s older brother Steel, I don’t think I have. Mystery goes pretty easy on me when it comes to helping me train.”
Brian shuddered a little from hearing that he lost. If there was one thing he knew about Tommy, it was that he hated losing at practically everything.
“Yikes, I can only imagine that fight didn’t end well.”
Tommy’s eyes shifted, and his right hand was gently scratching under his chin.
“It’s not really that it ended well, it’s more that I wasn’t able to outsmart him, really. I felt bad about it of course..especially being I lowkey had to take that loss in front of everyone. It was extremely embarrassing..but there was really only so much I could’ve done.”
Mystery sheepishly laughed and looked away.
“He’s been feeling guilty about it ever since. Though, I’ll admit..I’m a bit of a pushover, heh heh... I’m not going to intentionally hurt someone I care so much about, y’know?”
The feline gave him a few pats on his head.
“I know, but hey, I still appreciate you for helping me anyway! Even if you look completely ridiculous trying to be a threat.”
Tommy sat down, legs crossed in the sand.
“If there’s one thing he told me though, is that he respects my strength at least, and that my ‘unpredictability’ will help me a lot as a hero because I can’t let my enemies predict how I might react or move. Hell, there was even a point where he got frustrated because he couldn’t land a hit on me.”
Brian placed his hand on his brother’s shoulder as he sat down next to him.
“I know you’re extremely stubborn, and we love that about you, but you need to always remember that you can’t let your emotions overtake you. Especially in a fight like that one because then you’ll lose your focus.”
Tommy sighed.
“Yeah..and it doesn’t even matter who my opponent is either, as that can really be said for any sort of fight..I’m just so stressed though. Like, sure, I’m working alongside the #1 Hero and with The Grove City Saviors, but...I want to do everything I can to like, help them out, y’know?”
“I get that. I know you hate feeling useless, but that doesn’t mean you continually push yourself past your limit to prove you aren’t. You’ve gone through so much with them within the past few months, and somehow here you are, still alive and free of injuries….Well, for now at least, knowing how accident prone you are.” Brian said back with a light laugh, giving Tommy a light punch to the shoulder.
“For what that’s worth, I’m sure they love and admire you for the hero you ARE, not the hero you COULD be. I know I do, and I have no doubt that Nova, Lilly, Jay, Splash, and Mystery do too.”
Mystery wrapped his arms around Tommy and squeezed him in a hug.
“The husky lad is correct. We love you for who you are, flaws and all.”
Brian leaned over and hugged him as well.
“The Water Shuriken Hero, Catara, will rise again and make his return to Grove City once he’s good and ready.”
Tommy gently squeezed the both of them in return, shyly smiling.
“I love you guys too. I know I’ll be able to before the summer ends, but for now I should continue to work on my weak points.”
Mystery nudged him.
“I know you’ll get stronger, but I know a few things you’ll never be resistant to.”
“Wait what do you mean by tha-”
Tommy’s eyes widened, getting up and backing away from the angel dragon.
“Oh no. NonoNONO, NOT THAT! ANYTHING BUT THAT!”
Mystery smirked evilly at the cat, and wriggled his fingers.
“Ohhh yes. Hehehe....”
Tommy gulped nervously, before turning around and running away.
“NO! STAY AWAY FROM ME, I HATE BEING TICKLED!”
Mystery let out a playful but evil laugh, trying to be more villain-like while chasing after his friend.
“YOU CAN’T ESCAPE THE TICKLE MONSTER, TOMMY! IT’S INEVITABLE!”
“NOOO! AGHHHH!”
Brian would only giggle as he watched the two bicker and fight.
“As expected of our hero, always facing the hardest challenges possible.”
This comic series is, in a nutshell, going to be based on my own childhood experiences from growing up in the Caribbean with my family.
Caribbean Escapades primarily focuses on Brian and his close friend Usui. Joined by their friends, Sammy, Jinx, and Tyler, as well as their classmates, they leave their home island of St. Monusea and venture across the Caribbean for the summer; they experience new things and new people to befriend, and on occasion, old and familiar faces as well. And who knows? Maybe they'll discover new things about themselves, too!
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